THE HAGUE IS CRUCIAL
The COP 6 in The Hague this November is crucial to avert climate
change. Given that industrialised countries must make much deeper
cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions of as much as 80-90% to keep
climate change within acceptable limits while allowing developing
countries space to develop, Friends of the Earth International calls
on governments to ensure that decisions taken at The Hague:
- Ensure that the Kyoto Protocol results in real and permanent
emissions reductions through the development of renewable energy
sources and energy efficiency measures;
- Commit industrialised countries to achieving 80% of their Kyoto
objective through emissions reductions at home;
- Enshrine principles of equity in the
framework for emissions reductions in the next and future commitment
periods based on an equal per capita approach and ecological limits.
All governments need to acknowledge the risks of climate change
- and accept their responsibility for climate change. The Hague
meeting is a critical stage in international efforts to stop climate
change escalating. Don't let world leaders water it down.
THE WAY FORWARD
The time has never been better for investing in sustainable development
with a view to minimising the growing problem of climate change.
Few countries have anything to lose by this. Many of the measures
required to cut emissions of greenhouse gases (for example, improved
energy efficiency and good quality public transport) are consistent
with the needs of sustainable development.
Even more to the point is that money spent now could advert serious
costs later. By its own estimates, the US will be a major loser
in worst-case climate change scenarios. Miami, Washington DC, New
York and Boston look set to be affected and New York city with its
long coastlines and connecting tunnels would be particularly hard
hit by rising sea levels.
Complacency on the part of wealthier countries could prove to be
the most expensive and painful option. "The cost of weather related
disasters in the year 1998 alone exceeded the costs of all such
disasters during the 1980s". Economic inequality is likely to
increase because of climate change, a situation which is not only
inhumane but, also very expensive.
Friends of the Earth International believes that the financial burden
of preventative and adaptive measures must be taken by the historical
polluters - exactly the countries which are working so hard to water
down the Protocol. These costs should not be absorbed by aid or
foreign assistance and preventative and adaptive measures must be
pursued with respect of the right of low-income countries to develop
the infrastructure, economies and stability in line with what they
need for sustainable development.
Last year's disasters
International action against climate change
Friends of the Earth's call for action at COP
6
How governments try to wreck the Kyoto Protocol
The UNFCCC
The Kyoto Protocol
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